This invention relates to disc brakes and, particularly to disc brakes of the kind including a stationary member secured to a non-rotatable part of a vehicle and having a pair of arms spaced in the direction of the circumference of a rotatable disc, the arms respectively straddling the circumference of the disc to extend from one side of the disc to the other side, a caliper slidably supported on the stationary member, a pair of friction pads slidably supported on circumferentially opposing walls of the arms, and a brake actuator provided on one side of the disc for pressing one friction pad against one side of the disc and slidably displacing the caliper on the stationary member thereby pressing the other friction pad against the other surface of the disc. More particularly, this invention relates to improvements in pad springs used in disc brakes of the aforementioned kind.
Conventional pad springs used in disc brakes of the kind comprise an elongated and widthwise curved pressing portion for engaging with the friction pads, and generally rectangular engaging portions extending integrally and oppositely in the widthwise directions from the central portion of the pressing portion for engaging respectively with the caliper and the arm. The pad spring effectively locates the friction pads and suppress the vibrations of the caliper and the friction pads. However, there are problems that the assembling operation is complicated, and that the exploded configuration of the pad spring is relatively large and complicated thereby increasing the manufacturing costs.